The Bending Games
by dreamergirl1776
Summary: The Hunger Games if it was in the Avatar world. Written in Kataras POV. This is my first FF so be nice please. Zutara happens around the end of the middle.
1. The Bending Games

It all started a long time ago... It began when the avatar disappeared. Without him, the fire nation won the war. The Fire Lord ruled with an iron fist, sometimes executing people who stole something that they desperately needed to live. About 5 years after the war ended, a group of rebels formed and tried to kill Ozai. One dark night, they snuck into the palace. Unfortunately they didn't get very far before they were caught and executed. This attack made Ozai insecure about how he was ruling us. He began to create more laws, and make the ones he already had worse. He also created The Bending Games. These games are cruel and barbaric. Twenty teenagers, one boy and one girl from each district, are chosen "at random" and are thrown in an arena together where they are forced to fight to the death. These games are held once a year. As teenagers get older, their chances of getting chosen to fight get higher and higher. This year I am 15, so my chances are still pretty low... I pray no one in my family is chosen...

"Katara! Are you ready to go yet? We can't be late or we'll get in trouble!" My brother Sokka yelled. We were getting ready to leave for the reaping. I was so

"I'm almost done! Wait for me outside. I'll be there in a minute!" I yelled back. I was just finishing pulling my hair up. When I was done I looked in the mirror to make sure I looked acceptable and then I headed for the door. I paused, looking back at my hut. This could be the last time I'm ever see it again... Sighing, I touched my mothers necklace and I wasn't quite as nervous anymore. I grabbed my parka and walked out of the hut. I looked over to see Sokka standing there with a very irritated look on his face.

"What took you so long? We're going to be late and dad's going to freak out," he said. We took off running towards the square in the center of our village, the snow crunching beneath our feet.

We lived in District 8; the fishing district. Before the war, we were known as the southern water tribe. Our district is one of the smallest, and also the poorest. It is always cold here, and many people die during the winter. Honestly, it's a miserable place to live, but my family is here and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. My family is all I have anymore.

We finally reached the square. Luckily, we weren't late but we arrived just as the reaping started. I gave my brother a quick hug and ran over to the area the guards sectioned off for fifteen year olds. While I stood there waiting, I looked around for my brother and my father. Suddenly, I heard a horn blow and a woman clearing her throat onstage. It was Sina, the horribly annoying and "glamorous" woman who always drew the names for the reaping. She wore the most ridiculous clothes I have ever seen. People say that it's the style in the capital but I don't understand how anyone could find those clothes attractive. Today she was wearing a bright red parka that had feathers sticking out in every direction. Around her neck the feathers were so fluffy you could barely see her mouth. She was also wearing a plain black skirt that went the whole way too the floor.

_At least her skirt is almost normal... _I thought until she turned around. Attached to the back of it was a long tail made of feathers in every color of the rainbow. I sighed and shook my head, wondering what she was thinking. _She looks like a big fat bird... _I thought to myself. But maybe that was the point. She signaled to the man standing beside her and he blew his horn again while she walked onstage, waving like she was in some sort of weird bird girl pageant.

"Hello, wonderful citizens of District 8..." she began. Her voice was almost as bad as her clothes... It was so squeaky it was starting to give me a migrane. I attempted to tune her out by looking for my family again. I spotted Sokka. We made eye contact and I smiled weakly at him. He was 17 this year so he was far mre likely that me to get chosen. He gave me a crooked smile and waved at me like a goof, trying to make me laugh. It worked. I giggled and turned back to listen to Sina. She was just finishing her dreadfully boring speech.

"Okay now it's time to see which boy and girl get the honor of fighting it The Bending Games!" she said cheerily. She was so happy it was almost scary.

A man walked onto the stage carrying two bowls filled with little strips of paper. One was for the boys and one was for the girls. I started praying that Sokka's name was on the bottom of the bowl. The man set the bowls next to each other on a podium and Sina walked over.

"Let's do the boys first." She said. She reached into the bowl and pulled out a name. My stomach clenched and she unfolded it. She read it and yelled out, "Hahn. Could Hahn please come up onto the stage?" I sighed in relief because my brother was safe, but at the same time I was sad. Hahn was Yue's fiance. Yue was the mayor's daughter, so she was basically the princess of our village. Her father always talks about how she was saved by the moon spirit when she was a baby and thats why her hair is white. Part of me thinks Sokka has a crush on her but he'd never admit it.

I watched as Hahn walked up onto the stage, his face blank. _He's probably in shock... _I heard sobbing behind me, so I turned to look and I saw Yue crying on the shoulder of a girl who's name I forgot. I looked back up to the stage to see Sina shaking Hahns hand and directing him offstage to a guard who was waiting to take him to a little hut that was erected behind the stage. Once Hahn was gone, Sina walked over to the big jar, mumbling about what at honor it was to be chosen.

"Now the girls" she said and her hand plunged into the bowl. She pulled out a piece of paper. As she unfolded it I began to get nervous. All this time I had been worried about what would happen if Sokka was chosen... But what if my name was on that piece of paper... I stared up at the stage as Sina read the name.

"And the lucky girl is..." The pause felt like it went on forever until finally she yelled, "Katara!" The last thing I remember is looking over to see my brother, his face shocked and afraid. Then everything went black.


	2. Saying Goodbye

It was amazing... I was out in the snow, making snow angles and snow men with Sokka. My mother and my father were standing outside the hut watching us. Everything was perfect. There was no bending games and there was no poverty in our district... It was perfect. I looked up at my mother from where I was laying in the snow, and she smiled at me lovingly. Just as I was jumped up to go give my mother a hug, I was jolted awake by a bucket of cold water. I jerked into a sitting position, dazed and confused. I had no idea where I was. I looked up to see Sokka standing over me with a bucket, and my father standing behind him looking very worried. I was laying on an old dusty bed in a small hut.

"What's going on? Where am I?" I asked.

"You got chosen in the reaping Katara... they called your name and you passed out..." Sokka replied. He sounded sad and scared.

"But... but they couldn't have chosen me. My name wasn't in the bowl nearly as many times as some of the other girls... I can't go.. I live here.. and I can't fight..." I started panicing. _How can I do this. _I thought, _The only things I've ever killed are seals and fish. I could never kill a person..._

"Katara listen to me... You're going to be fine. In a few minutes your going to leave and go to the capital. And then your going to fight. And I don't mean to live as long as possible. You need to fight to win. Me and dad need you around here. Without you our house would be a mess and we'd both starve. We need you to come home." I took a deep breath, trying to calm down. He was right. I can do this. I have to do this...

"Sokka can I have a moment alone with your sister please?" My dad asked him. He nodded and gave me a hug. I held onto him tight, trying to remember every last detail; how he smelled, how warm he was, everything. This could be the last time I ever get to see him.

"I love you, sis. You can do this." He told me. Then he pulled away and walked out of the hut. My heart clenched. I needed my brother... He was my best friend.

My dad sat down beside me.

"Katara... you know I love you, and if you don't want to do this you don't have to..." He said slowly.

"What are you talking about? Of course I have to do it..."

"You could just... I don't know... give up? At the start of the Games just give up... You could never come home but..."

"I'm coming home Dad." I saif with false confidence. I honestly had no idea if I'd ever come home.

"I really hope so... Listen, I want you to have this." He said, handing me a small necklace. "I got it at the market a few days ago, just incase something like this happened. It's supposed to be blessed by the Moon Spirit so hopefully it will keep you safe."

"Thanks Dad. I won't take it off." I said with a smile. Just as he was about to say something else, a guard walked through the door and dragged him away. Just before he was pulled through the door he yelled

"I love you Katara. Please dont forget that!"

"I love you too!" I yelled just as the door closed. "I love you too..." Then I laid down and cried until I fell asleep. And all I could dream of was fighting and violence and death... Soon it wouldn't be a dream any longer...

_Hey guys :) Sorry this chapter isn't very long. Schools been getting really busy so I wasn't able to write a big chapter. I might not have time to fit this in for a few days. I'll try my hardest though. Don't forget to review! :) Ask me some questions and maybe I'll answer them down here. No spoilers though. ;)_

_xoxo_

_-dreamergirl1776_


	3. The Capital

I woke up to Sina shaking me awake,

"Wake up sleepy head. Were leaving on the train soon so you need to pack..." she said. I sat up slowly and rubbed my eyes hoping this was all just a really long, terrifying dream. I sighed and stood up. I think I had everything packed already. I had all the clothes I would need. I touched my mothers necklace to make sure I had it. I also made sure I had the necklace my father had given me. I really hoped it really would protect me... I needed all the protection I could get.

"I think I have everything." I said.

"Fantastic!" she squealed, "Let's go get on the train then and we'll get you something to eat and you can meet your mentor." I grabbed my bags and followed Sina out of the hut, looking behind me to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything. We walked through the town square to a small train station, where we climbed into a car. Inside, there was a huge table covered in food. Just looking at it was making my mouth water. I set my bags down in the corner and ran over to the table. I hadn't eaten all day and it was nearly sunset. I sat down in a chair and started shoveling huge piles of food onto the plate that was setting infront of me. There were delacacies from every district! Suddenly I stopped. How could I eat all this food while the people outside of this train were starving to death? I decided to only eat a few sea prunes. When I pushed my food covered plate aside, I heard a voice say,

"You better be eating more than that. You need to keep your strength up if your planning on surviving this blood bath..."

I jumped. I hadn't even noticed the old man sitting at the table. I recognized him, but I couldn't figure out where from...

"Go ahead dear. Eat. Don't feel bad for the people outside. If you win the province will get more money and life will be better. But there's no way you'll win if you starve yourself." Said an old woman sitting next to him. Who were there people?

"Ah I see youve met your mentors!" Sina said as she walked into the room. Walking behind her was an obviously upset Hahn. He sat down in the chair next to me. His eyes were glassy and he looked like he was in some kind of daze. _He shouldn't be so worried... At least he's gone through warrior training... _

Since he was supposed to be marrying Yue, the mayor insisted that he be trained as a warrior so he could protect Yue. The guards almost didn't let him but after talking to the head guard they allowed it. In most cases, normal civilians weren't allowed to be warriors because the guards assigned to our province were afraid we would rise up and take over.

"Hello I'm Yugoda." The pleasant old woman said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "And this grumpy old wart is Pakku," She said bitterly. He glared back at her. _Maybe they are fighting or something... _I thought. I hoped not... This would be terrible if my two mentors are fighting...

"Ok boy... Come with me..." Pakku said while he stood up and brushed the crumbs off of his coat. "I'm going to teach you how to fight."

"Wait what about me?" I said, "I need to learn how to fight too!"

"Pakku belives that women don't deserve to be waterbenders. And if we are that we shouldn't learn how to use it properly. We are apparently meant to be healers and that is all." Yugoda said angrily. Now I could see why she didn't like him...

"Pakku please. I need to learn how to defend myself or I'll die." I begged. He merely rolled his eyes and walked away. I sat there, stunned. "How could he be so sexist?" I asked Yugoda. "I need to learn how to fight too..."

"I know dear" She replied, "I'll try talking to him but he's so stubborn... At least I can teach you how to heal. You are a waterbender right?" I nodded. Just then the train lurched. I jumped out of my chair, not knowing what was going on. Yugoda laughed and said, "It's alright that was just the train. We're on our way now." I nodded and sat back down.

Almost the entire train ride Yugoda explained how to heal. She said it was a strange feeling at first, but after I got used to it it would be comforting. She expained that I would have to bend some water over the wound and I would have to concentrate on healing. She told be it personally helped her when she visualized the wound healing itself. I also learned that if I was doing it right, the water would glow and I'd be able to feel he persons energy.

"Ok dear. We've talked enough. Now you need to try it." Yugoda said.

"Wait... what? But I'm not ready yet. And I dont have anything to practice on."

"Oh yes you do." She said. She then reached over and grabbed a sharp knife. She then proceeded to cut the palm of her hand with it. When she was done she wiped off the blade and held her hand out to me. "Go ahead. You can do it." I bended some water out of a cup sitting across the table and surrounded my hands in it. Then I held my hands above her wound and concentrated as hard as I possibly could. _You can do it. _I thought_ You have to do it... _Then suddenly the water began to glow. My eyes widened and I was so surprised that I dropped the water. She pulled her hand away and looked at it.

"That was very good for your first try. It didnt heal completely but it scabbed up nicely and it's gotten a litle smaller. Here, let me show you." She said. She bended all the water off the floor and covered her good hand with it. Then she made the water surround the cut. It immediately began to glow, and the red line became smaller and smaller until it finally dissapeared completely. "There. By the time you go in that arena I'll make sure you can heal like that." She said with a smile. Just then, Sina barged into the room saying,

"We've almost arrived! Look out the window!" I jumped up from my seat and ran over to the window. In the distance I could see a huge city that appeared to be inside a volcano or a crater. I couldn't tell which.

"It's beautiful" I said, just before I realized that this was the place where I could die a horrible, bloody death...

* * *

_Ok well that didn't take as long as I thought it would. :) I'll answer some questions now:_

deathking00 - wait would this mean zuko would be in district 1 cause he's royalty or district 12 cause he's fire?_  
I decided I would make district 1-4 the fire nation, 5-7 the earth kingdom, and 8-10 the water tribes. There is also district 11 (Which I'll talk about later). It was destroyed and no one lives there anymore. That would have been the air nomads. Anyways, that means Zuko is in district 1 (The capital) because he's fire nation and because he's royalty. _

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Ill try to get another chapter up sometime this week. :)_


	4. Arriving

When the train pulled into the station, I could hear the excited screams of the excited citizens of the Capital outside. _How can they be so excited to see people dying and killing each other?_

"Wave at them through the window." Yugoda told me.

"Why?" I asked.

"Don't ask questions just do it while you have the chance." Confused, I stood up and walked over to the window. I looked out at the massive crowd forming on the platform. They saw me in the window and started yelling louder. When I waved at them they cheered so loudly I had to cover my ears. I shut the curtain and walked back over to Yugoda.

"Why did you make me do that?" I asked her.

"You need to work the crowd dear. If the crowd likes you, the noble families will like you. And they have to like you, because if they don't you won't get any special little presents in the arena." When I thought about it, I remembered the tributes getting little packages when they needed them. Most of the nobles were sponsors. If they liked a tribute, they would occasionally buy things like water or medicine and have it sent into the arena. I sighed. I just wanted these stupid games to be over already... Sina ran into the room saying,

"Come on Katara. The guards are here to escort us to the palace. We have to hurry, Pakku and Hahn are already out there!" I got up and grabbed my bags, and checked for both my necklaces. Sina opened the door in front of me and Yugoda and I walked out onto the platform. The shouts from the crowd were completely deafening. I could see Sina trying to talk to me but it was impossible to hear her. We walked over to the guards and they formed a circle around us. Behind me I felt Yugoda pull my shoulders up so I was standing straight. I kept walking and she prodded my in the back and pulled my arm up. I glared back at her and started to wave. The people around me were going crazy. It felt strange... I had grown up in a small district where no one was famous and everyone was treated like dirt. It was a hard transition to go from that kind of life to this. We finally managed to get off the platform and out onto the streets. There were less people out here so the guards loosened their circle around us.

"I'm so excited!" Sina squealed, "As soon as we get there you'll get to meet your stylists and then later you'll get to see the other tributes! I can't wait!"

"Yeah..." I said slowly, "I'm so excited..."

After about 15 more minutes of walking, we arrived at the palace. I was shocked by how enormous it was. _How can one family live here..._ I thought. There was more than enough room for the royal family and a few servants... _Well, I guess they have more than a few... _

We were escorted through huge double doors in the front of the massive building, and then we were led through a maze of coridors until we came to a large stone platform. The guards told us to stand on it and it would take us to the second floor where our room was. We all squeezed on and waited for something to happen. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a few men standing in the shadows. Suddenly they started swinging their arms in the air and the stone we were standing on began to rise. _They must be earthbenders... _I looked up to see two large stones sliding apart above us. They opened just in time for the large stone we were standing on to slide up above them. We all jumped off and looked around. The room we were in was huge. It was a huge square with doors all around the edges. I assumed those were the bedrooms. In the center of the main area, there was a large black table. I walked over to it and looked at the strange stone it was made of. It was smooth and shiny.

"Its made of cooled lava." Pakku said dryly. "You should have educated yourself about the fire nation before you came here."

_It's not like I knew I was coming... _I thought as I studied the room more. The walls that didnt have doors had either windows or large red banners with the fire nation emblem in the center. As I looked at things with more detail, I realized a lot of things in the room had the fire nation symbol. It had been burned into the center of the table, and it was on many of the vases around the room. One thing that stood out to me was the portrait hanging on the wall inbetween two windows. It was of a man and a woman, with their two children, a boy and a girl, sitting at their feet. I thought I recognized the man and the little girl but I couldn't figure out where... Then it hit me. The man was Fire Lord Ozai and the little girl was princess Azula... _I guess that means the little boy is Zuko... He looks so different without his scar... _Prince Zuko had a large scar on his left eye. No one in our district knows how he got it and it had been there as long as I can remember. It looks like he had been burned but I wasn't sure.

"Excuse me are you Katara?" A happy voice said behind me. I turned around to see a chubby short woman with a huge smile standing behind me.

"Yes I am. Who are you?"

"I'm Soni, and this is Ikki," She pointed to a tall skinny woman, " and this is Sarai" She pointed to a short girl who looked like she couldn't be more than 15 years old. "Were your team of stylists!"

* * *

_Ok so I'm sorry this chapter isn't very long. I keep telling myself I need to give you guys a big massive chapter but I can never find enough time. And I'd rather post shorter chapters more often than a long one every week. Don't forget to review! And feel free to ask questions. I'll answer as many as I can down here. :)_

_-dreamergirl1776_


	5. Preparing

"I thought I only had one stylist?" I asked the girls standing in front of me.

"Well, you have one main stylist and a team of other girls in training to be head stylists, or some women who just like helping." She said.

"Oh ok... well where is my head stylist?"

"She is making your dress for tonight." Soni told me.

"What's tonight?" All three girls gasped.

"Tonight is when all the other tributes and all the sponsors get to see you!" They squealed. I should have known... The first night was always the night when the tributes were dressed up and paraded around for the sponsors to look at... I honestly thought it was an enormous waste of time. I couldn't picture myself dressed up and clean... Normally when I thought of myself I thought about seal fat and dirt and snow. Everyone in District 8 was very dirty almost all the time. Because of the cold, it was rare to get a warm shower or bath and when someone did, they almost always became sick because of the cold. I hadn't had a bath in months... Apparently my stylists could tell... They ordered me to remove my clothes and climb into an enormous bath tub. When I was completely naked, they were obviously trying to hide their disgust. I was completely covered in dirt. I stepped into the water and jumped because it was so cold.

"This water is freezing!" I exclaimed,

"Oh sorry!" Soni said. She placed her hands on the side of the tub and closed her eyes. Suddenly I could feel the water heating up. "Tell me when it is warm enough." I waited until the water was almost too hot for me to bear before telling her to stop. Then I sunk into the water, enjoying the heat while the stylists walked out of the room. _Soni must be a firebender... _I thought. Could I trust her? I had grown up learning that all firebenders were evil, but she seemed very nice. I decided to give her a chance. A moment later, Sarai walked into the room with some strips of paper and a little container of a milky substance.

"Ok Katara..." She said quietly, "This is the worst part of ... and its going to hurt.. but I'll try to do it fast ok?"

"Wait what? What are you going to do?" I said nervously.

"You'll see..." She said. she told me to lift one of my legs out of the water. I did and she dried it off with a towel. I was very worried at this point. She grabbed the container with the whiteish cream in it and spread it all over the lower half of my leg. _This isn't so bad... _Then the started puting the strips of paper on my legs where she had spread the creamy stuff. Then it hit me. _Oh no... it's wax... _I thought.

"Are you ready Katara?" Sarai asked me. I nodded slowly and braced myself. She reached over and grabbed a piece of paper and ripped it off as hard as she could. It was one of the worst pains I had ever felt. After she finished my entire leg, she called in the other stylists. They proceeded to wax every part of me. Even part of my eyebrows, which I thought was absurd. When they were finished, my body was red and sore.

"Was all of that really necessary?" I asked while they rubbed lotion on me. Apparently the lotion was supposed to make the redness go away but so far it wasn't working.

"Of course. You need to look absolutely stunning tonight." I had been given a full schedule of the next few days. Tonight I had to go to the stupid sponsor thing where I could see who my competition was, then tomorrow we had our interviews. After that we had 5 days of training and a tribute/mentor/sponsor dinner. The day after that we all got scores (I wasn't sure how that worked yet) and then we went into the arena a day later. I had seven days to make sure I had a way to win. My family needed me back home.

I was starting to get nervous. Yugoda had been right... If I wanted to win I needed to work the crown and I needed the people and the sponsors to love me.

"Ok I just need to go talk to your head stylist and then we'll get started on your makeup." Soni told me. I had never worn makeup... I had always seen it being sold in the markets at home but I never had any interest in buying any. It was so expensive I couldn't afford any anyways. Soni walked back into the room.

"I just saw your dress Katara. It's absolutely beautiful." Soni said. "Were going to do your makeup to match it." They sat me down in a chair and asked me to sit very still. They covered my face in what seemed like every color of the rainbow and they lined my eyes in dark black. Ikki told me it would make my eyes seem bluer and bigger. While Ikki painted my face with make up, Soni was tugging at my hair. It seemed like she was curling it. She would take a strand, wrap it around her finger, and heat it up. When she let it go it was curled perfectly. When they were done, they wouldn't let me see it, but they told me I looked beautiful. They then led me into another room. The room was completely empty except for one table in the center. On the table was a sewing machine, and every kind of fabric imaginable. Laying on the table was a lump with a sheet over it. I assumed that was my dress.

"When can I see it?" I asked no one in particular.

"Be patient." A dark voice said behind me. I spun around to see a woman dressed completely in black with multiple piercings and tattoos. "I'm June, your head stylist."

"Oh... um... hi..." I replied, completely shocked by her appearance. Most women in the Capital dressed in shockingly bright colors.

"You're a waterbender, right?" She asked.

"I.. um... yeah, I am." I said

"Fantastic." She then pulled the sheet off of the dress. I had never seen anything so beautiful.

"I figured since you're a bender I would make a dress that kind of showed the elements." The dress had four sections; one for each element. The water one was blue with sparkles all over. It also had water flowing all over it.

"How did you get it to do that?" I asked June, pointing to the water.

"Its a special material. It should stay on there but if any falls off you can just bend it back on." The rest of the dress was brown, for earth, with smudges of dirt on it, red for fire with bright red sparkles, and yellow with white swirls for air.

"It's amazing..." I said, stunned.

"Glad you like it. Now put it on and lets go before we're late and Sina starts rambling on about God knows what like she always does." As soon as June said that, I knew I would like her.

* * *

_Hey guys :) Sorry this took kinda long. I'll probably have another chapter or two up this week. :) There definitely won't be any over the weekend though because I'm going to Erie with my momma. _

Zulie: Who is Gale in this?  
_There isn't a Gale in this story. I'm thinking about maybe making one but it won't be until later in the story. There isn't really a Peeta either. _

_And thanks to everyone who reviewed. You guys are so sweet and you made me smile. :) _

_Thanks for reading and don't forge to review!  
-dreamergirl1776_


	6. Before the Craziness

An hour later my team and I were being escorted to the center of the Capital. Yugoda had also been asked to join us. I had no idea what had happened to Hahn. I hadn't seen him in what felt like days. I assumed he was with Pakku. Apparently he was wearing something called a tuxedo that matched mine.

As we walked through the streets, I began noticing that there were very few people in the streets.

"Where is everyone?" I asked Yugoda.

She smiled and replied, "Where do you think, dear? They're waiting for the tributes in The Dome."

"The Dome?"

"That's where we're going now." I wondered why no one told me that before... "Its an enormous building in the center of the capital where everyone can watch all the tributes." I nodded and kept walking. After about 10 minutes of walking I noticed my feet were starting to get sore.

"Are we going to have to stand the entire time?" I asked Sina.

"Oh of course not!" she exclaimed. "The tributes will come out onstage one by one starting with the tributes from the capital, and ending with the tributes from province 10. Once you're onstage, you'll stand there while the crowd cheers for you, spin around once, maybe wave or blow the audience a kiss, and sit down. Then once everyone is onstage, you'll all stand wave, and walk off one by one. Understand?" I nodded but by the end of her instructions I was lost. I wasn't used to this kind of thing at all... I decided to just copy everyone else instead of asking Sina to repeat herself.

Suddenly, I heard a weak voice say, "Excuse me. Excuse me, miss." I looked over to see an old man sitting on the side of the road. He looked frail and weak, and he was wearing only rags. I stopped suddenly and said,

"What is it, sir? Do you need help?" The second I replied to him, Sina gasped and yelled,

"Katara! Get away from that filthy street rat!" She tried to pull me away but I swatted her off of me.

"Are you ok, sir?" I asked him. Sina squealed and said,

"Don't call him sir! You are a tribute and he is merely a piece of filth off the street!" I spun around on her and yelled,

"Don't call him a piece of filth! He is just as much a human as you and me!" I didn't know why I was defending him so much... maybe it was because he reminded me of all the poor homeless people in my province. Either way, Sina had no right to say such horrible things right in front of him. I turned back to the old man and said,

"What do you need, sir?" He smiled up at me and quietly said,

"I was simply wondering if you could spare some change, young lady." I smiled back at him and said,

"Of course I can." I turned back to my group and asked them all to give me as much change as they could spare. I ended up receiving quite a bit from some of the guards and June. I handed the old man the money and said,

"I hope this helps."

He counted the money and replied,

"This is more than enough. You are such a blessing to me, young lady. I thank Agni you walked by my street tonight." I smiled and asked him why he wasn't at The Dome. He said, "I can't afford it. And even if I could I have no way to get there. My legs are very weak and I struggle to walk." I turned back to my team. As if June could read my thoughts, she smiled and nodded at me as if she approved of what I was considering doing.

"Well, sir, I think I can arrange for you to get to The Dome." I motioned for one of the guards to come over and asked him to carry the old man to The Dome.

"But ma'am, how will I get home to my corner?" he asked.

I thought about it for a moment and said, "I think I can have my escort Sina arrange something." I glared over at her and she glared back. Obviously she didn't approve of my decision to bring the old man with us.

After the guard had lifted the old man, and another guard carried his few possessions, we continued walking. After about 20 minutes we arrived at The Dome. I was amazed by the size of it. It was a massive black building shaped like an enormous dome. Sina led us inside where we immediately went backstage.

"Look what you've done." She scolded, "You made us late..." She was right. A middle-aged man was speaking onstage. I walked over and told the guards to go find the man a seat, and to make sure he was taken back to wherever he wanted to go afterwards. I then saw Hahn and Pakku so I walked over to them.

"Are you nervous?" I asked Hahn.

"Of course not." He replied. I rolled my eyes at his attempt at being tough. He was obviously very nervous. His knees were shaking and he was sweating. Sina ran over to us, obviously excited about something.

"They've decided to do the interviews tonight!" she exclaimed.

"So... so... so what does that mean?" I asked. There was no way I was ready for the interviews. If I did them tonight I knew I'd say something stupid and embarrass myself.

"That means after everyone is onstage, you'll go over to the host onstage and he'll ask you three questions and then you'll go offstage. Don't worry you'll be fine." She said sourly. She was obviously still upset with me. I sighed. The butterflies in my stomach were starting to make me slightly sick.

* * *

_Hey guys :) Sorry I ended this kind of bad and it's so short but my moms kicking me off the computer and I really wanted to give you guys another chapter tonight since it's been a while. Thanks to everyone who reviewed! :) I'll try to get another chapter up sometime this week._

_-dreamergirl1776_


	7. The Interviews

People were rushing around me and a line of tributes waiting to go onstage was forming. I followed Hahn to our place in the line. Sina rushed over to both of us and started telling us exactly what to do and exactly what to say in the interviews. I only understood half of what she was saying. I noticed Hahn wasn't paying attention either He was trying to see who the other tributes were. I honestly didn't care. I could see them onstage. I heard Sina going on and on about saying what the crowd wanted to hear, not what I wanted to say. _Why would I do that? I don't want to lie... I guess so the crowd likes me... _The first few tributes were walking onstage. The butterflies were getting worse and worse... I took a deep breath and got ready to follow Hahn onstage. The crowd was cheering so loud it was deafening... For some reason I began wondering if the old man was okay... Then suddenly Sina shoved me and I was walking across the stage with Hahn.

The lights were blinding. I could barely see Hahn in front of me. I followed his dark shape to our seats. All the chairs were bright red, which made them appear as if they were glowing. I sat down in the chair to Hahn's right and looked out into the crowd. There were so many people in the crowd and it felt like every eye was on me. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm down. My heart was racing. The rest of the tributes sat in their chairs and turned to look at the man who had announced us. I had totally blocked him out until now... He was the strangest looking man I had ever seen. He was wearing a velvet neon orange suit. _How did he manage to get velvet..._ I thought. Velvet was incredibly rare in my province, and it was so expensive no one could afford it. The suit was so bright it was making it hard to look at him. _How is it even possible to get velvet that color..._ His beard was also very odd. It was shaved to look like swirls around his face... They sort of resembled the symbol for air. I was trying to remember his name but I had ignored Sina when she told me. I decided I should probably be paying attention to what he was saying. I could worry about remembering his name later.

"...Please stand and feel free to wave to the crowd, understand?" He said. All the tributes around me nodded. _Oh no... What did he say..._ I leaned over to Hahn and whispered,

"What did he just say?"

"You should have paid attention." He snapped. I sighed and looked back to the orange suit man.

"Aurora, Province 10!" He exclaimed. At the end of the line, a tiny girl stood up and waved to the crowd. She looked like she was probably a year older than me but she was so small she looked like a child. _She'll be good at hiding_ I though. After Aurora he announced a very small boy named Ito. He looked like he was about 14.

"These two are cousins! I can already tell this will be an exciting tournament." Orange suit man shouted. _That's __horrible... No matter what one of them is going to lose the other... _After the cousins he announced an average looking boy and girl who I didn't think would be any real competition. I was finally calming down when my name was about to be called. I took a deep breath and tried to get ready.

"Katara, Province 8!" I stood up and waved awkwardly before sitting back down and cowering in my chair. Did they cheer for me? I didn't even notice.

"Hahn, Province 8!" Hahn stood up and waved to the crowd. This time I heard the screams. The crowd loved Hahn. _Why would they like him more than me? He hasn't done anything I haven't... _The rest of the introductions were a blur. There was no one I recognized except the male tribute from Province 1... It was Prince Zuko. _I can't believe he's in these games... There's no way I can win against him. He's been trained to fight. _

"Ok lets start the interviews!" Orange suit man said, "Prince Zuko you're first!" Zuko walked over to him and they both sat down in two fluffy purple chairs.

"So Zuko, how did you react when you were chosen to take part in The Bending Games?

"I was shocked at first, but then I realized what an honor it is to be chosen. Now I am very pleased and I am ready to fight for the glory of my province."

_Said like a true prince... Theres no way he is happy to be involved in this blood bath... _

Next was the girl from Province 1. Her name was Mae.

"So Mae, how does it feel to be in The Bending Games with your boyfriend Zuko?" Orange suit man asked.

"It's fine. I'm just honored to be in this thing..." She said in a bored, monotone voice.

_Wait... Her boyfriend? That's almost as bad as the cousins..._

The only other interview I remember was a girl named Ty Lee from Province 3. She was so happy and excited it was sickening... She was almost as bad as Sina... I daydreamed through the rest of the interviews, only worrying about my own. All of a sudden I heard Orange suit man say,

"Hahn, Province 8! You're next!" My head snapped up. It was Hahns turn already? He walked over and calmly sat down next to Orange suit man.

"So Hahn, we heard you left your fiancée at home to participate in these games. Are you going to win for her?"

"Of course I am. When I asked her to marry me I promised her I would never leave her and that's a promise I intend on keeping." From the audience, I heard hundreds of female voices go "awwwwwww" _So that's why they like him... He's using Yue to make them feel guilty for him... _

"Do you have any advantages you think will help you win so you can return to her?"

"Possibly. But for now that's my little secret." He winked at the crowd and a few girls screamed for him. I sighed... His interview was going so well... Mine would seem terrible compared to this.

"Oh, I see how it is!" Orange suit man laughed, "Thank you Hahn! Next up is Katara, Province 8!" I heard a cheer from the crowd but I didn't pay attention. My heart was in my throat. I saw Sina backstage trying to get my attention. I looked at her and saw her motioning to wave. I nodded slightly and turned to the audience. I waved to them and they cheered louder. I decided to try blowing them a few kisses too and the screams from the crowd grew. _I can't believe it! They like me! _I sat down in y chair and turned, preparing myself for my first question.

"So Katara, how would you describe life in Province 8? Are you glad you were able to leave to take part in the games?"

"Well, life in my province is very hard. It is cold all the time and many of us struggle for food. I love it there though. I've never known anything different until now. So to answer your question..." I paused... I remembered what Sina had said... "_Tell them what they want to hear," _I shook my head. I wasn't going to lie to make a crowd of strangers happy. "No I'm not happy I left. I was ripped away from my home and my family and now I will either be murdered or be a murderer. I do not want to participate in these games and I do not want to be here." I then stood up and walked back to my chair without saying anything else. The crowd was in shock. No one had ever dared to say something like that in an interview before...

"Well..." Orange suit man said, stunned, "Katara from Province 8..." The crowd clapped some, but not very much. I saw Sina's face backstage. She was at a loss for words, which was a surprise. All she could do was stare at me with her mouth hanging open. _I'm going to get in trouble for that later... _I thought, but deep down I didn't really care. I knew I had done the right thing.

* * *

_I'm so sorry this update took so long! My life has been crazy busy lately. Because of this craziness, there won't be as many updates, but I'll try to make them longer and I promise there will be a least one every 2 weeks. Hopefully I'll be able to give you guys one every week but no promises. I figured if I told you some of the characters in the games it would make up for it. Don't forget to review! :)_

_Here's a list of everyone in the games so far:_

_Province 1: Zuko and Mae  
Province 3: Ty Lee  
Province 8: Hahn and Katara  
Province 10: Aurora and Ito_

_-dreamergirl1776_


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